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1/19/16 AC Minutes Minutes Town of Lexington Appropriation Committee January 19, 2016 : Reed Room,Town OfficeBuilding,7:30p.m. : Glenn Parker, Chair; John Bartenstein, Vice Chair and Secretary; Kate Colburn; Alan Levine;Beth Masterman; Eric Michelson;Richard Neumeier; Andrei Radulescu-Banu;Rob Addelson (non-voting, ex officio) Members Absent:Mollie Garberg Others Present:Jill Hai, Chair of Capital Expenditures Committee; Jonathan Himmel, Chair of Permanent Building Committee The meetingwas calledto order at 7:36pm. 1.Liaison Report: Mr. Michelsonreported onupdates to the Town Parking Meter Policy, which has been finalized by the Board of Selectmen. The new program will start on March 1, 2016 and will do away with the parking permits sold to local businesses by the Town for use by their employees, since the permitted spaces were not being used effectively.Rates at the large Center lot will be raised to $0.50/hour, capped at $4.00/day. Employers will have the option to purchase a $250 sticker that grants the bearer use of the lot for $1.00/day. Electronic meters for on-street parking will cost $0.75/hour, but there will also be several new locations with free parking further away from the Center. Mr. Levine reported on the Board of Selectmen’s discussion regardingCenter Streetscape plans. The plans are still in progress while the Selectmen consider whether to make changes to the existing plans for Massachusetts Avenue, such as substituting a rotary at the Pleasant Street intersection, and removing the proposed traffic light at Marrett Road.Some members expressed concernthat the State funding for the road construction could be at risk if the existing proposal was modified. Ms. Colburn reported on: The FY2017 School Committee budget, which has an overall growth of 6%. The drivers of growth are enrollment, Special Education costs, and Out-of-District tuitions which are projected to increase by $1,122,806. In addition, the State “circuit breaker” reimbursement rate is dropping from 13% to 9% in the coming fiscal year. 2.Minutes: Mr. Michelson moved that the minutes of December 8, 2015 be accepted with minor edits. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. Mr. Bartenstein reviewed the list of minutes still requiring attention. 3.February Special Town Meetings2016-1 and 2016-2: Mr. Michelson reported that under the proposed new Minuteman Regional Agreement, seven member towns have indicated that they may opt to withdraw from the Minuteman school district. Towns that vote in favor of ratifying the proposed agreement are implicitly granting permission for these towns to exit the district. The towns cannot formally exit the district until approval is obtained from the State Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, which will require these towns to provide an alternative plan for students desiring access to vocational education. Responsibility for writing the Committee report to the upcoming Special Town Meetings will be assigned as follows: 1